The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
During ureteroscopy or percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) procedures, baskets are often employed to capture and retrieve stone fragments from a patient's anatomy. After the stone fragments have been removed from the patient and released from the basket, the basket is re-inserted one or more times into the patient's anatomy to remove all or most of the remaining stone fragments. In some instances, however, stone fragments that are too large are captured in the basket, which may result in the basket getting stuck in the ureter or access sheath. If the basket can be pushed back, some fragments can be released and the basket can then be pulled out of the patient. If the basket is completely stuck, the basket can be cut apart from the basket handle and sheath, or a small laser fiber may be inserted into the patient so that laser energy can be utilized to break up the stone fragments. In any case, if the basket is damaged, a new basket has to be employed to complete the medical procedure, which may increase the surgical time and costs.
Among the literature that can pertain to this technology include the following patent documents and published patent applications: U.S. Pat. No. 7,645,283, U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,728, US 2005/0261705, and DE69828984, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.
Accordingly, to reduce surgical cost and time, there is a need for a stone retrieval device that prevents the basket from getting stuck in the ureter to minimize trauma to the ureter during retrieval of stone fragments.